This invention relates generally to medical data management and, in particular, to a system and methodology for the acquisition of medical data from multiple, at-home patient measurement devices, including the transfer of such data via standard telephone or wired/wireless network communications to a remotely accessed data management and display system accessible via a global computer network.
There are numerous medical devices that afford patients the ability to take physiological measurements in the home. Patients with certain disease states, such as heart failure, diabetes, etc., are likely to own and use more than one of these medical appliances. These appliances include, home blood pressure cuffs, blood glucose monitors, and weight scales. The devices provide information such as systolic and diastolic pressure, pulse rate, blood glucose levels, and patient weight.
The consumer market and associated technologies associated with such devices have been maturing steadily for the past several years, and now many of these appliances include communication ports and software to connect them to a personal computer. As a result, there is now an opportunity to collect information from multiple home medical devices, and then present that information to both the patients and their health care providers via the World Wide Web (WWW). However, this cannot be easily carried out with current technologies for several reasons.
1. There is currently no standard for home medical appliance data and communication protocols. Individual appliances vary greatly in this respect, even appliances produced by the same manufacturer. Without a standard, it is very difficult to unify the information. A patient may have to have several different cables to connect to his or her PC to each appliance, and must run completely different software to communicate with each.
2. For many patients, there is a cost barrier to set up such a system. Many elderly and low-income patients cannot afford the purchase of a PC to download and store the information from these appliances. However, healthcare providers are beginning to recognize the potential benefit of this technology for preventative medicine that can ultimately reduce healthcare costs.
3. Even if the information is successfully gathered by the patient, it currently cannot made available to their healthcare providers in a clear, concise format.
Thus, there remains a need for an interface device to directly connect at home medical appliances to a telephone line, without a PC, for transfer to a Web-based data management system.
This invention presents a device, system, and methodology for the acquisition of data from multiple at-home patient measurement devices, and the transfer of this data via telephone or alternative digital network communications to a remotely accessed data management and display system which is preferably Web-based. Collection of data is mediated through an interface device connected via a digital link (serial, network, or digital RF link) to single or multiple patient measurement devices. For data transfer, this interface device is connected to a network via wide-area network over standard phone lines, modem or DSL.
In the preferred embodiment, the interface device automatically dials directly into a data collection server at a data management site. The data management site possesses both Database and Remote Display Server (which include Web-based) systems that provide for storage of patient records and data, and allow for access to the data by authorized users through any Web or Viewer-enabled computer. The interface device includes support for two-way communications between the patient and the database system and is extensible to support multiple plug-in medical devices and devices for patient input or identification.
Also in the preferred embodiment, data transfer is mediated through pervasive DTMF phone networks. Although DTMF is the preferred format, alternative analog or digital audio tone formats may be used. The device may therefore be equipped with auto-dialer, without necessarily requiring a full chipset modem, since the vast majority of home medical appliances are low data rate devices. In alternative embodiments, however, the connection may incorporate a modem for faster data transfer, modems for DSL, cable or RF network connections, and RF or various digital connections between the medical measurement devices and the communications device itself.